The dopey wing of the climate change deniers will quiet down. The dopey end of climate change panickers will replace them “it’s hot, it’s global warming, we’re all going to melt!” That doesn’t lend itself to as many comics, but you should have a few to keep the global warming files active until winter.

I agree … the left does not hold the Obama administration accountable in the sense that you have laid out. But I wonder what that would look like, do we vote him out — and then who would we vote in in his place ?

I stand by my statement that finding critisism of Obama from the mainstream left is easy to find, whereas finding similar critisism of Bush from the mainstream right was almost unheard of.

the left calls their politicians to ask when they feel they are screwing up - the right just goes right along.

In what meaningful way has the left called their politicians to task? Obama has, by and large, continued and affirmed virtually all of the gross violations of the rule of law started under Bush, such as holding prisoners indefinitely with trial, and many of the same lefties that were (correctly) yelling that this was grossly unconstitutional, are now claiming that it’s perfectly reasonable. It’s become clear that that lack of a public option in the health care plan is by Obama’s design, rather than an unfortunate point he was forced to reluctantly concede, and I can’t see it likely that Obama’s going to suffer any political consequences for this.

Some progressives are complaining about such things, but if they’re not willing to actually punish Obama politically for it (and they’re not), then that’s not holding anyone to task, it’s just complaining. And I’m talking about myself here, too. I’m a progressive, who will most likely vote for Obama in 2012 on the grounds that he’s marginally better than his opponent, so I’m not likely to hold him to task either.

It was disconcerting to, on the one hand, talk to Dad and know his deep-felt opinions hadn’t changed, yet in the next minute hear him spout verbatim party rhetoric that was diametrically opposed to how I knew he really felt. But the voting strength that kind of devotion gives the Republican Party is astounding! The Democratic Party doesn’t seem to be able to inspire that same kind of cohesiveness (probably by definition), and that is evidenced by the Democratic legislators who seem willing to scuttle the health care bill just because they think it doesn’t go far enough. The party who can inspire blind voting obedience to the party line has the strength, and the party where everyone will quibble about each little part they don’t totally agree with is throwing away their power.

I’ve always thought it was the true strength of the Democratic Party that it was made up of very diverse, mostly headstrong people. When they embrace their liberality instead of trying to bury it, they do better. The Republicans keep people following the party line better, though.

Again though, as you say, these are rank generalities and don’t necessarily apply to any individual people.